Recently there has been pressure upon home owners and other garbage and trash generators to provide at the home collection site where the trash is collected a plurality of containers so that different parts of trash, e.g. recyclable, may be separated from other types, e.g., non-recyclable. Municipal ordinances, based on environmental and recycling considerations, make the separation of the various type of trash mandatory in some communities. For example, many communities now require homeowners, apartment dwellers, etc., to separate trash into three or four different categories, each being collected by the resident in a plurality of containers. For example, municipal ordinances and regulations have required people to separate paper in one container, metals in another container, glass in a third container and plastic in a fourth container. The separation of these categories of trash enhances the ability of the community to recycle portions of the trash and thereby reduce the community's trash collection cost by sale of recyclable materials.
While such separation of trash is environmentally sound, it presents problems for the residents in such communities.
One solution to the problem, an expensive one, is for such residents to purchase four conventional garbage or trash cans, either metal or plastic. Not only is such a solution expensive, but it usually represents a waste of money in that, e.g., if four conventional, viz., 50-gallon trash cans, are purchased, there is a considerable waste of storage capacity in that the average residential family does not generate that much of each different category of trash between trash pickups. Moreover, another problem is the space requirement these conventional trash cans consume, especially in apartment buildings where space is at a premium, e.g., in highly populated metropolitan areas.
Of course, another solution would be to overlook these ordinances and regulations, but this is unsatisfactory as it would undoubtedly ultimately result in prosecution, fines and possible imprisonment.
Various containers are described in prior art patents as will be indicated below.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,572,486, issued to B. L. Isaac, illustrates a single trash can on wheels with a rear pivoting lid and a handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,194, issued to Philip Vega, is directed to an ice chest cart on wheels having a plurality of compartments defined by interior walls and having an exterior common outer lid with a provision for an interior lid in a certain compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,432,037, issued to R. F. Russell, is directed to a hand truck fitted with arcuate brake members suitable for handling gas cylinders, e.g., oxygen and acetylene.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,132, issued to Robert L. Rich, U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,850, issued to W. E. Franklin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,223, issued to James J. O'Reilly et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,930, issued to James J. Ryan, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,949, issued to James A. Walker, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,950, issued to Richard Le Sage et al, illustrate various types of hand trucks, and various other carts for transporting a variety of different materials. It will be appreciated that none of these patents disclose, describe or suggest the structure of the trash bin cart and assembly with bins as in accordance with this invention. Correspondingly none of these patents teach or describe a structure permitting the attainment of the combination of objectives and advantages which are obtainable with the present invention.